light

英文词源

light

light: [OE] English has two distinct words light. The one meaning ‘illumination’ comes ultimately from Indo-European *leuk-, *louk-, *luk-, which also produced Greek leukós ‘white’ (source of English leukaemia [20]) and Latin lūx ‘light’ (from which English gets lucifer [OE], literally ‘light-bearer’), lūmen ‘light’ (whence English luminous [15]), lūcēre ‘shine’ (source of English lucid [16]), lūstrāre ‘light up’ (whence English illustrate and lustre [16]), and lūna ‘moon’ (source of English lunar).

Its main prehistoric West Germanic derivative was *leukhtam, from which come German and Dutch licht and English light. The word lynx may be related. Light ‘not heavy’ comes from a prehistoric Germanic *lingkhtaz, a close relative of which produced English lung (the word lung thus etymologically denotes ‘something full of air and not heavy’, and indeed lungs were, and animal lungs still are called lights in English).
=> illustrate, leukaemia, lucid, luminous, lunar, lustre, lynx; lung

light (n.)

"brightness, radiant energy," Old English leht, earlier leoht "light, daylight," from Proto-Germanic *leukhtam (cognates: Old Saxon lioht, Old Frisian liacht, Middle Dutch lucht, Dutch licht, Old High German lioht, German Licht, Gothic liuhaþ "light"), from PIE *leuk- "light, brightness" (cognates: Sanskrit rocate "shines;" Armenian lois "light," lusin "moon;" Greek leukos "bright, shining, white;" Latin lucere "to shine," lux "light," lucidus "clear;" Old Church Slavonic luci "light;" Lithuanian laukas "pale;" Welsh llug "gleam, glimmer;" Old Irish loche "lightning," luchair "brightness;" Hittite lukezi "is bright").

The -gh- was an Anglo-French scribal attempt to render the Germanic hard -h- sound, which has since disappeared from this word. The figurative spiritual sense was in Old English; the sense of "mental illumination" is first recorded mid-15c. Meaning "something used for igniting" is from 1680s. Meaning "a consideration which puts something in a certain view (as in in light of) is from 1680s. Something that's a joy and a delight has been the light of (someone's) eyes since Old English:

Ðu eart dohtor min, minra eagna leoht [Juliana].

To see the light "come into the world" is from 1680s; later in a Christian sense.

light (adj.1)

"not heavy," from Old English leoht "not heavy, light in weight; easy, trifling; quick, agile," from Proto-Germanic *lingkhtaz (cognates: Old Norse lettr, Swedish lätt, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch licht, German leicht, Gothic leihts), from PIE root *legwh- "not heavy, having little weight" (cognates: Latin levis "light," Old Irish lu "small;" see lever).

The notion in make light of (1520s) is of "unimportance." Alternative spelling lite, the darling of advertisers, is first recorded 1962. The adverb is Old English leohte, from the adjective. Light-skirts "woman of easy virtue" is attested from 1590s. To make light of is from 1520s.

light (v.1)

"touch down," from Old English lihtan "to alight; alleviate, leave," from Proto-Germanic *linkhtijan, literally "to make light," from *lingkhtaz "not heavy" (see light (adj.1)). Apparently the ground sense is "to dismount a horse, etc., and thus relieve it of one's weight." To light out "leave hastily" is 1870, from a nautical meaning "move out, move heavy objects," of unknown origin but perhaps belonging to this word (compare lighter (n.1)).

light (v.2)

"to illuminate, fill with brightness," Old English lyhtan, common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon liohtian, Old High German liuhtan, German leuchten, Gothic liuhtjan "to light"), from source of from light (n.). Related: Lighted; lighting.

light (adj.2)

"not dark," Old English leoht, common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon and Old High German lioht, Old Frisian liacht, German licht "bright," from the source of Old English leoht (see light (n.)). Meaning "pale-hued" is from 1540s.